Boston pro sports news and analysis from
Brian MacPherson of the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Total team effort on defense

Though the offense made it easier with a couple of clock-draining drives, the Patriots put together as complete of a defensive effort as they've delivered all season.

Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards completed less than 50 percent of his passes and was intercepted twice, and running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson combined for 60 rushing yards on 18 carries (3.3 yards per carry). The Bills' longest passing play went for 15 yards; their longest running play went for eight yards.

Here's a look at some of the individual defensive highlights:* Ty Warren (seven tackles): Sacked Edwards for a six-yard loss on second-and-5 midway through the third quarter.* Jerod Mayo (six tackles): Hit Edwards to force an incompletion on the second play of the game, and broke up a pass intended for tight end Robert Royal on the Bills' last meaningful offensive play.* Tedy Bruschi (five tackles): Didn't have a signature play, but for a linebacker who's supposed to be washed up, he was in on an awful lot of plays.* Mike Vrabel (five tackles): Got into the backfield on a third-and-goal run by Lynch in the second quarter, stopping the running back in his tracks and bringing him down.* Vince Wilfork (four tackles): Blew up the run game all afternoon and put a pretty good lick on Edwards on the play right before Deltha O'Neal's interception.* Ellis Hobbs (three tackles): Intercepted a pass intended for Lee Evans on the second-to-last play of the first quarter.* Adalius Thomas (three tackles): Delivered a shot to Edwards late in the first quarter, but left with an arm injury in the second.* Mike Wright (three tackles): Put a nice hit on Edwards to force an incomplete pass in the final two minutes of the first half and had back-to-back tackles on the Bills' first drive of the fourth quarter.* Richard Seymour (three tackles): Blasted right through the line to sack Edwards for a six-yard loss on the Bills' first drive.* Pierre Woods (two tackles): Played most of the game at linebacker after Thomas left* Gary Guyton (one tackle): Got his hand in the way of an Edwards pass for Roscoe Parrish that fell incomplete.* Deltha O'Neal (one tackle): Capitalized on Edwards' biggest mistake, picking off an underthrown pass for Royal late in the third quarter.